


Suddenly Strangers

by fckndonut



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Childhood Friends, F/F, FSAU, Fluff, Pining, Useless Lesbians, figure skating
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:20:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24866722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fckndonut/pseuds/fckndonut
Summary: Adora and Catra grew up together in the same figure skating club, The Horde. Despite competing against each other their whole lives they became the best of friends, completely inseparable. They are now eighteen, competing in the senior ladies singles division and the competition season is fast approaching.Adora finds out something that changes everything she has ever known, and this leaves her with a choice to make - do what's right and the possibility of a better skating career, or stay where she is with the only person who has ever shown her love?
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 48





	1. you wanna be friends forever, I can think of something better

**Author's Note:**

> hi, so this has been in the works for a while now and I'm so happy to finally be publishing the first chapter. I don't wanna give away too much so I will be adding tags as the story goes on. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it :)

Adora loved the chill of the ice rink. It was familiar and made her feel at home as she arrived each morning. The rink was her favourite place to be and not just because of skating, but because her club were like her family. Maybe they were a rather odd dysfunctional family, and maybe they all argued and fought most of the time, but Adora loved them and she felt love when she was with them. That is what family is, right? 

It was an early Saturday morning, much too early for most but not for Adora. This had been her Saturday routine for as long as she could remember. She would get here between five and seven every week and she would skate until late into the afternoon. It was a five o’clock start today, as it had been for the past few years while competing, and because she liked to have the first skate on the fresh ice. Adora walked through the rink towards the changing rooms. She pulled her skate bag behind her and held a tray of two takeout hot chocolates in her hand. 

As always, she was first to arrive, apart from the caretaker who let her in. She looked out at the fresh sheet of ice as she passed it, already anticipating getting out there to make her mark on it.

Adora rounded the corner to the changing room, pushing the door open with her hip while balancing the drinks. It was empty as expected. She placed the drinks down gently on the bench in front of her locker then turned and opened it up, ridding herself of her outdoor jacket and shoes. She used the small mirror inside to put up her hair into her usual ponytail, before putting up her finger guns.

“Pew, pew!” She winked and then smiled dumbly at her reflection before sitting down onto the bench and opening her skate bag.

Adora’s skate bag was very neat compared to others. She didn’t understand how her friends could never organise their own. She pulled out her skates, switching her blade soakers to her guards. She was lacing up the first one when the changing room door swung open, banging against the wall.

“Hey, Adora” said a sultry voice. Once she got over her shock, Adora couldn’t help but smile at the instigator, Catra. Her hair was sticking up in every which way, and she wore her signature smirk on her face. The girl continued into the changing room, making sure to poke at Adora’s hair poof before she planted herself next to her, grabbing one of the hot chocolates in the process.

“Hey, Catra” Adora feigned an annoyed voice as she smoothed down her hair, “I really wish you would stop doing that. I don’t try to touch your hair, which is really nice of me considering the mess of it.”

Catra laughed, she attempted another swing at Adora to poke at it again but Adora leaned backwards, putting her head out of reach.

“Catra! Stop it!” Adora got up from the bench forgetting she only had one skate on. She wobbled before toppling over onto the ground. Catra’s laugh echoed around the empty changing room.

“I really hate you, do you know that?” Adora tried to stifle her own laugh, she was not about to admit defeat in resisting her best friend. 

“You love me really, dumbass.” Catra replied before getting up and offering a hand to Adora to help her up. 

This was how the two girls always were around each other. They loved to tease each other endlessly and wind each other up, but they were best friends. They had been friends since they were five years old and started skating. Their similar age meant that they were rivals in all aspects of competition, but they could never hate each other over something so simple as winning. Don’t get her wrong, if it was up to Coach Weaver, they would never have been friends. Their no-nonsense, very strict and sometimes mean Coach was very hard on her students and she often favoured Adora over the others. This meant that Adora was constantly told that friends and socialising were distractions, and that she would never make it in the skating world if she didn’t focus solely on training. Adora wanted more than anything to make it in figure skating, but she also needed Catra in her life. Without Catra she would have given up long ago. 

Catra pulled Adora up by her arm and helped her onto the bench. Catra’s hard exterior was deceiving, she could be extremely gentle and loving when she wanted to be. Although, she kept that side of her for Adora only. Why? Adora didn’t quite know.

“Drink your hot chocolate before it gets cold, Dummy”.

The girls sat back down on the bench and both took large sips of their drinks. Catra pulled her skates out of her messy bag and began putting them on. Adora turned away at the sight of the bag, knowing Catra would never let her touch it; she hated organisation, unlike Adora who thrived on it. She took another big sip of her drink and then finished lacing up her boot and putting on the other. They got ready in a comfortable silence before following up with a few off-ice stretches to warm up before heading to the ice. 

Adora was excited for the few hours of alone time they would have before training officially started. They did this most days; arrive at the rink early and practise together before Coach Weaver and the others arrived. This was her favourite part of the day. They would warm-up with a few laps around the rink, racing each other to see who could be fastest. This would be followed by their usual on-ice warm-up routine of basics. 

What they did after warm-up depended on where they were in the season. Sometimes they would help each other with the stuff they needed to work on; jumps mostly, but spins and footwork sequences too. Other times they would mess around for a bit, hold hands and skate together peacefully. This was Adora’s favourite and it makes her smile. The season had not yet started but it was getting closer and closer, so today was about helping each other with their programmes. Adora hoped that they could at least hold hands for a bit. 

The two walked close together towards the ice, their cups in hand. They removed their skate guards and placed them along with their drinks on the boards next to one of the ice entrances. 

“How long do you think we have before the devil herself shows up?” Catra asked, nonchalant. Adora knew better and could see behind the facade though, Coach Weaver was awful to Catra, and this wasn’t a 'nonchalant' matter. 

Adora looked up at the large clock above the ice before replying, “Hopefully she doesn’t arrive early again, then we’d have two hours.”

Adora glided onto the ice as she spoke. She turned to face Catra, her hand outstretched. Catra took it almost instantly with a grin.

* * *

They skated around for a while holding hands before they completed their warmup routine together. The silence was always comfortable between the two girls; they had known each other for so long that they could practically hear each other’s thoughts. Catra loved this about their friendship. Although, she was grateful that this wasn’t actually the case. If Adora knew of the many thoughts circling around her brain she would no doubt never speak to Catra again. 

Catra had tried to forget these thoughts, repress them, but the way in which Adora would hold her hand while they skated, the gentle touches she gave her randomly, or the way in which she would look at her in ways nobody else had ever looked at her made it almost impossible to forget. 

Adora could never know about her feelings because Catra wasn’t sure if she could survive here without the gentle touches, the handholding or the dopey, loving grins. Maybe this could be seen as greedy or selfish, but Catra didn’t care. She needed Adora; Adora was the only person that had ever mattered to her. Catra couldn’t survive without Adora.

Once they finished warming-up, the pair skated over to the boards, sweat gleaming on their foreheads and muscles less tense. Adora turned to face Catra, she looked like she was going to say something, but her eyes trailed down Catra’s face fixating on a spot. Adora’s lips twitched up slightly as she reached out her hand, moving a stray piece of hair stuck to her cheek with sweat to behind her ear. Catra’s eyes followed Adora’s hand the whole time. Panic began to rise in her stomach, roaring through her but she kept as still as possible, trying to hide it from her expression. Adora didn’t remove her hand from Catra’s face, her fingers grazed the side of her jaw. Catra coughed awkwardly and it seemed to wake Adora from her daydream. Adora removed her hand, holding it awkwardly in the other as if unsure what to do with it now. She looked down to the floor. Catra told herself the hint of a blush spreading over the other girl’s cheeks was just from being caught daydreaming. It couldn’t be for any other reason. 

“So, do you wanna practice a bit before everyone else starts arriving or not?” 

Adora lifted her head to look at her, clearly interrupted from her thoughts again, “Yeah, sure.”

* * *

Practice went well overall. Adora had got her short programme routine down and she had landed every jump she made. It also helped that Coach Weaver seemed to be preoccupied with the others today, leaving Adora and Catra to their own devices. 

The two had worked on their short programmes together for the majority of practice. Catra had suggested Adora add more jumps and spins to her routines to increase her technical score. Catra was known for her technique in competition, her highest scores coming from her daring jumps. She was the first of them to land her Double Axel and she was working towards a Triple for the new season. 

Adora was certainly not known for her jumps, she preferred to stick to footwork sequences and spins mostly. Her scores were just ahead of Catra’s due to her artistry coming up slightly higher. Coach Weaver didn’t like the skaters to be too artistic though, she believed only technique was the key to success so Adora often didn’t reach her full artistic potential. She hoped maybe this season Coach Weaver might be more lenient. 

It was mid-afternoon and the two walked hand in hand out of the building. They were both in elated moods, laughing over Catra’s prank on Kyle in the changing rooms earlier that day. 

“I can’t believe he jumped that high!” Catra had tears in her eyes from laughing. 

She had hidden behind the lockers while he went to the bathroom and waited for him to come back to jump out at him. Kyle, as expected, got a very big fright when Catra jumped out screaming. 

Catra was always playing pranks and always tried to convince Adora to join in. It was fun when they didn’t get caught. If Coach Weaver did catch them, it often ended in Catra being scolded mercilessly so Adora tried to keep her best friend in check as much as possible. Keeping her in check meant she wouldn’t hear Catra’s adorable laugh, or see the happiness radiating off of her, but it saved seeing her under the horrible scrutiny of their coach. This time Adora hadn’t managed to convince her not to, luckily their coach was nowhere to be found. This also meant she got to enjoy these rare moments of happiness from Catra. 

“I can’t believe he fell for that again,” Adora said.

Catra laughed harder. Adora couldn’t help but smile fondly at the other girl. 

“He is such an idiot.” 

Catra opened the boot of Adora’s car, dumping her stuff in before grabbing Adora’s and doing the same. Adora sighed,

“If you’re going to do it you could at least place them in nicely, Catra.” She shuffled the bags and jackets around into a neater pile and closed the boot while Catra walked around the side of the car and jumped into the passenger seat. Adora followed suit, jumping into the driver's seat and starting the car. 

“So, what are we doing tonight?” Catra asked, looking hopefully at Adora. They didn’t have plans, but this was habit after so long. The girls were rarely apart. 

“You can come over to my house, or we can go get something to eat? I am really hungry.”

Catra seemed to consider both options before replying, “I’m hungry too. Can we get some food then go to yours?”

“Of course.”

* * *

Catra let Adora decide on where they ate. Adora loved eating and although not picky, she did have her favourites so it was only right she made the decision. Catra pushed down the thought that really, she was doing it to make Adora happy. 

Adora had chosen a small diner across town, a small drive away from the rink. They drove in comfortable silence for the most part, Only breaking it when Adora turned on some music. Catra scoffed at the song choice. 

“I do not understand your music taste at all. How could you enjoy listening to this, Adora?” 

Adora frowned, still keeping her eyes on the road, “What’s wrong with Taylor Swift? She’s great.”

Catra shook her head in disbelief, Adora had the worst taste in music. She skipped through the songs, questioning why they were even friends based on this playlist. She settled on one she recognised; Dodie’s  _ Would You Be So Kind _ . The first few bars rang through the speakers and Catra inhaled a breath. She did  _ not  _ think this through properly. The panic roared through her once again. 

“Oh, I like this one, good choice,” Adora said as she nodded her head along. She was so oblivious. Catra just hoped she would stay that way. 

As the song played, Catra tried not to stare at Adora but she couldn’t help it. Between the adorable way she stuck out her tongue slightly while concentrating on driving, and the way she would nod her head along to the lyrics, both had her internally screaming. Adora was  _ adorable.  _ And Catra was fucked.

__

Adora parked near the entrance of the diner. Catra waited on Adora as she shut the car off then they headed in together.

The diner was mostly empty except for a few tables taken by older couples and people studying here and there. The radio played faintly in the background and there was some chatter coming from other customers. Adora guided Catra over to a booth by the window. Once seated, she was first to grab the menu and begin scanning through it. Adora was not patient when it came to food. 

“Is it bad I want to order both pancakes and a burger?” Adora peeked half her face over the menu at Catra.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less coming from you,” she paused to tilt the menu away from Adora, she turned her head to try and read the upside down text. Adora turned it so Catra could see it better. Catra looked over it for a few minutes before deciding, “I also want pancakes.”

“Okay, so two pancakes, a cheeseburger and fries, two waters?” she paused to confirm with Catra. Catra nodded. “I’m really hungry, I hope it doesn’t take too long.” Adora placed down the menu and looked around for the waitress.

Catra couldn’t help but laugh. Adora was so ridiculous when she was hungry, but it was so damn cute.

* * *

“I am so full. I don’t think I can drive home,” Adora whined. She was slouched in the booth, just having completed both her burger and fries as well as a stack of pancakes. She should have thought this through. She certainly didn’t regret it, the food was delicious, but maybe she should have left some to take home with her for later.

“You’re such an idiot. I’ll drive us back,” Catra smiled fondly at Adora as she spoke. Being called an idiot would usually be seen as a bad thing, but coming from Catra it was almost like a compliment. Something about the way Catra looked at her then made her stomach flutter. She didn’t understand why. She composed herself quickly when she realised she’d been staring. 

“Thanks, Catra. Where would I be without you?” 

They both left some money on the table, each paying for their own food and leaving a tip. 

“Well for starters, you wouldn’t have any competition and then what fun would skating be?” Catra paused as she held the door open for her. “Oh, and you would have to be best friends with either Kyle, Lonnie, or Rogelio. Yeah, they’re nice people but are they as cool as me? Certainly not.”

Adora laughed, “You’re right. Nobody compares to you.”

They got into Adora’s car, this time Catra drove. Adora was grateful Catra knew the route to her apartment better than she did herself. The music started where it left off, playing softly while they drove. 

Adora looked out the window while humming along to the music. This part of town was slightly nicer than theirs which was aptly nicknamed the Fright Zone. She enjoyed looking at the colourful buildings that lined the streets here, so different from the dull greys that dominated her own neighbourhood.

The car slowed to stop at a red light. Adora turned her head to look out of the window in front of her. Across the road sat The Palace Ice Rink; the rink belonging to their rivals, The Bright Moon Figure Skating Club. A huge purple banner hung above its entrance reading ‘OPEN AFTERNOON’. Adora’s eyes widened, she had an idea.

“Catra, look!” 

Catra followed her gaze towards the ice rink.

“Okay?” She looked back at Adora puzzled. 

“What do you mean ‘Okay’? You’re Catra! You’re the one who should be suggesting this!” 

Catra still looked confused. Adora looked at the rink again, and then back to Catra. The excitement rose through her, she smiled devilishly.

“We should crash!”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter, I'm hoping to publish the second chapter in the next week or so. meanwhile, feel free to leave kudos/comments on your thoughts, and you can follow me on twitter where I tweet about procrastinating on the regular and thirst over she-ra's muscles - @meowcatradora
> 
> Just wanna say a big thanks to Rhi, Syl and Ale for reading it over and editing for me, to the hate cult gc for helping with song ideas, and to my lovely girlfriend Sophia for her very, very critical review which was slightly mean but helpful (she's lucky she's cute.)
> 
> i do have a spotify playlist for this fic, feel free to check it out( but beware it might give you some spoilers as to where this is going) - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6jxmP1hsknoxBvvgh6Ynyi?si=NBWGIzihTRaCav-S-hCnWw
> 
> Can't wait to hear your thoughts!


	2. I shouldn’t be feeling this but it’s too hard to resist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora and Catra crash the Bright Moon FS club's open afternoon and shenanigans ensue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry this chapter took so long to write, I had some struggles with motivation and concentration.
> 
> the unofficial title of this chapter given by my girlfriend is "iS tHis aLloWeD???", and yes she has an unofficial title for every chapter so look forward to that. 
> 
> I also wanted to note - I have gave an estimate number of chapters but this may change!! also, i'll continue to add tags as chapters are published!
> 
> anyways, I hope you enjoy it!

“We’re going to get caught, Adora.”

Adora smiled mischievously at her best friend. They were sat in the car in the Palace Ice Rink’s parking lot. Adora was still trying to convince Catra that this was a good plan.

Catra was usually the one to come up with plans like this, so Adora was pretty proud of herself to be the one who suggested they crash the Bright Moon Figure Skating Club’s open afternoon. She didn’t understand why Catra was so worried, they had done much worse before with plans Catra had come up with.

“What is up with you? This is a great idea! Are you just pissed I came up with it and you didn’t?” Adora couldn’t help but tease her. Catra turned her head away from the front window to look at Adora. She frowned.

“No, I just know you, Adora,” Catra tried to keep a straight face but her lips twitched up in amusement. “And, the Adora I know doesn’t think through her plans. The Adora I know gets an idea and doesn’t think through every possibility, and it  _ always _ ends in disaster.” 

Adora pouted. Catra laughed softly. She reached out and touched Adora’s arm. 

“It’s okay, my common sense makes up for your lack of it. Plus, your eagerness is what makes you cute.”

Adora couldn’t help but blush at the words. Catra had called her  _ cute.  _ Catra seemed to realise what she had said and paled. She removed her hand from Adora’s arm as if the touch burned. She turned her head and looked out of the driver’s window, her expression now out of Adora’s view.

The feeling in Adora’s stomach was strange. It felt like a hundred butterflies were trapped inside and it made her mind feel fuzzy. It must have been all the food she ate. She ignored the tiny voice in her head telling her it definitely wasn’t the food making her feel this way, but a certain dark-haired girl sat right next to her.

She tried to think of something to say to change the subject, but before she could Catra was unbuckling her seatbelt and grabbing her jacket out of the backseat.

“What are you doing?”

Catra looked at her like it was obvious, “Going inside? We can’t crash if we don’t actually go in.”

_ Oh _ . She had forgotten her plans completely after their awkward moment. The awkward moment where Catra had called her cute. She felt the swooping feeling in her stomach again and had to force herself to focus.

“Oh, of course. Sorry I forgot.” She tried to hide the flustered tone in her voice but failed. She began turning off the engine and preparing to get out of the car. 

“You’re such a dumbass.”

* * *

The Palace Ice Rink was much different from the rundown rink where The Horde trained. There was colour everywhere; from the banners that hung on walls to the colour coded seating stands. The walls of the reception area were lined with trophy cabinets and framed photographs of skaters. The largest photograph was of Bright Moon Figure Skating Club’s owner and head coach, Angella Stone. Adora knew of Angella from her many years of competing alongside her daughter, Glimmer. 

Coach Weaver had forbidden members of The Horde to talk to other clubs, especially Angella’s. Their coach had told them all about Angella’s past of cheating in her own skating days and how she was most likely doing the same now for her daughter. This angered Adora. The idea of somebody cheating their way through competitions when there were skaters who worked as hard as she did to even qualify to compete. 

Catra and Adora walked close to each other through the reception and entrance foyer, they shared the same look of amazement at how fancy the rink was. As they walked on, Adora noticed a group of skaters handing out flyers and cupcakes from a small stand. Some of them she recognised from competitions over the years. Adora tapped Catra on the shoulder and pointed in their direction,

“There’s that girl Perfuma from our division! And those ice dance partners; do you remember them?”

“Oh yeah, Sparkles and Arrow.”

Adora snorted as she laughed, making Catra smile. “Their names are Glimmer and Bow, Catra.”

Catra rolled her eyes, “Same thing, and they are still stupid names.”

“Says the girl who goes by Catra.” Adora knew she’d pay for this comment, but she couldn’t help but tease her. She enjoyed the ways in which Catra would react; the messing with her hair, the faux hurt reactions, the playful pushes. Adora couldn’t help but appreciate the attention and physical touch from the other girl. Maybe she liked it a little too much for them just being ‘best friends’ but she was not about to unpack  _ those _ thoughts right now.

“That’s different and you know it! It’s shortened!” Catra frowned at her and she tried not to giggle at how cute she looked when she was angry.

“Okay, Catrina.” Adora knew for sure this would set the other girl off, she hated her full name.

Catra’s frown deepened. She attempted to poke at Adora’s hair poof to mess it up, her most likely attack. Adora knew it was coming and was able to dodge the hand that reached over. Catra attempted to swipe again but Adora’s reflexes once again won. 

They were both in fits of laughter now as they attempted to annoy each other; bumping hips and arms restraining each other as they continued through the lobby area of the ice rink. They didn’t notice the stares and dirty looks of people around them, they were in their own little world, only each other existed.

Catra eventually gave in after they almost bumped into one of the many tables holding baked goods and information on the club. 

She quickly turned to the person sitting behind the table to apologise. Adora laughed loudly. She decided to take the distraction of Catra apologising to steal them a cupcake each from the table. She tugged on Catra’s sleeve as she turned to walk away, pulling her quickly away and through a door into some changing rooms. Both were in fits of laughter.

* * *

The changing room was empty except for some lockers lining the walls and a few worn benches in the centre. It was dimmer due to the lack of windows and it was much quieter, only faint noises from outside the room could be heard. 

Catra sat down on one of the benches in front of the rows of lockers. She bent over and leaned onto her knees attempting to catch her breath. She couldn’t help but grin, times like these with Adora, causing trouble and messing around, were her favourite. 

Adora stood in front of her leaning against the grey lockers, she was also grinning and her laughter subsiding. Catra loved that smile so much. 

Adora shoved one of the cupcakes into her hands impatiently before she began peeling the wrapper off her own. She took a huge bite and the icing smeared onto her nose. Catra looked up at her smittenly, shaking her head. Adora could be so dumb, but still so adorable at the same time. 

“Adora…” Catra got up from the bench and stepped toward her. She lifted her hand slowly to wipe at the bright pink frosting. Adora went cross-eyed as she watched, the sight made the corners of Catra’s lips twitch up involuntarily. What an idiot. 

She let her hand fall from Adora’s face and looked up into the bright blue eyes staring back at her. She felt frozen to the spot. They were so close that she could feel Adora’s breath tickle the skin of her cheek. The sensation made her shiver. 

Adora seemed to notice and she quirked an eyebrow in question. 

It felt like all the air in Catra’s lungs had disappeared. There was a weird sort of tension hanging in the air.

Catra felt a pull in her chest, an ache to lean forward and connect her lips to the parted ones just inches away. Her eyes flickered down toward them. She realised what she was doing and snapped them back up to Adora’s eyes quicker than she could blink.

A look of recognition appeared in Adora’s eyes. Before Catra could process her panic, Adora leaned in ever so slightly. Catra stood rooted to her spot, this was too good to be true.

Adora’s lips were millimetres from her own and she finally realised this might actually be happening. She took a sharp breath to prepare herself, this was it. 

Before their lips connected the door to the room swung open. A loud voice charged toward them,

“SPIES!! HORDE SPIES!!”

* * *

“I knew this was a bad idea.”

Adora apologetically looked at Catra. She was right, it had been a bad idea. The two of them were currently sitting side by side in identical chairs in front of a large desk in what appeared to be the office of Bright Moon’s Coach Angella’s office. They had been brought here by her daughter Glimmer and her skating partner Bow. The two had charged in on the two girls and accused them of spying. 

Technically they weren’t spying; they had just wanted to crash the party, have some fun, maybe get up to some mischief, but they weren’t looking to spy on routines. They didn't have to spy to win at competitions.

Adora felt a swooping in her stomach when she thought about the compromising position they had been caught in. She had been so close to kissing Catra. She felt a blush rise on her cheeks. She had so many questions swirling around her brain. What could have happened if they hadn’t been interrupted? And most of all, what did this mean? Adora had never felt like kissing Catra before and the sudden urge that had come over her was very confusing. 

Of course, they had always been closer than most best friends were. Most of their friends at the rink would tease them for how close they were; noting how they always had to share hotel rooms at competitions, how they always fell asleep on each other during the long bus journeys to different cities, and their shared morning ice time before everyone else arrived. It had always been like this, even when they were children. Nobody could come between them. That didn’t mean she had feelings, did it?

But then, the almost kiss… what did this all mean?

Adora was startled from her thoughts when Coach Angella walked into the room and closed the door gently behind her. She walked around the girls and sat down behind her large desk. Weirdly, she didn’t seem angry, her expression was calm. 

Angella sighed before she spoke, “Adora Greyskull and Catrina Lopez, how lovely and unexpecting to see you here.”

Adora looked over at Catra on her right, she looked almost like she was bored, sitting slouched in her chair and her eyes unfocused. How could she be so calm? If Coach Angella was anything like their own coach and how she treated spies, she’d have them disqualified quicker than they could let out a breath. Spying was against competition rules. Adora’s eyebrows furrowed in worry as she turned back to Angella,

“Mrs. Stone, I can explain, this is all my fault-“ 

Adora blurted out her apologies, trying anything to not let this affect the upcoming skating season. They couldn’t  _ not _ compete after all the work they’d put in to get there. Although before Adora could continue, Angella put up her hand in an effort to silence her. the silence lingered for a moment.

“You don’t need to explain yourselves; it is an open afternoon after all.” She paused before continuing, “I was just surprised to see you both here when you seemed so happy in your own club.” 

“We are happy in our own club,” Catra had straightened in her chair and was glaring with narrow eyes at the coach. She spoke with a hint of annoyance present in her voice. “We’re  _ very _ happy. We just thought we’d drop in and see our competition on their own turf, as you said, it’s an open afternoon. So, if we haven’t done anything wrong, we’ll be leaving now.”

Angella’s eyes widened at Catra’s words, she probably wasn’t talked to like this often. Catra never did care for authority figures. Before Angella could reply, Catra stood from her chair and turned to walk out. When she got to the door, she turned back to face Adora.

“Come on Adora, we’re leaving.”

Adora nodded and got up obediently. She started toward the door where Catra had disappeared out of sight from now. 

“Adora, hang on please.” 

It was Angella. 

Adora stopped and twisted her body to look at her, “Yes?”

“And you? Are you happy with the Horde?”

Adora tilted her head in confusion, her eyebrows furrowed. She was happy, but was she happy with the Horde? Of course, she loved her friends and she loved skating, but she had never considered how it would be to skate with another club. She’d never had the option.

Her mind floated to Catra. Catra had said she was happy, and Adora could never leave her. Therefore, it wasn’t an option. She shook her head at Angella in disbelief.

“Yes. Very happy, now, if it’s alright with you I’m going to leave.”

“Those who are happy wouldn’t consider before they answered.” Angella looked at her with an unreadable expression. She continued, “Just know, there will always be a spot on my team for someone as talented as you. Also, there’s a lot you don’t know about that coach of yours, a lot that may change your mind about leaving. But I’ll let you go for now, Adora. Have a lovely day.”

Adora’s eyes widened, she stayed still on her spot. There were things she didn’t know about Coach Weaver? She had a place at Bright Moon? Before she could question Angella an angry Catra was storming toward her with a look of questioning. 

“What are you doing, Adora?! Come on! We’re leaving!”

Adora didn’t get a chance to ask Angella what she had meant, she was pulled forward by her jacket from Catra who was dragging her out of the rink and towards the car. 

Catra was talking to her, ranting at her, asking her why she hadn’t followed and what she had been doing but Adora was unable to concentrate. She was trying to understand what Angella had meant. 

She was so confused.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hoped you liked this chapter!! I'm looking forward to publishing the next and I've already started it so it shouldn't take too long to update! I would really love to hear your thoughts so please leave a comment or tweet me @meowcatradora on twitter! I really appreciate every single kudos so thank you!!
> 
> BIG THANKS to Rhi for editing/reading over for me, Ale for reading over and dealing with my 3am breakdowns over the plot, and as always my lovely but critical girlfriend Sophia!
> 
> also if you are interested I have a playlist on Spotify for this fic so if u wanna check it out here is the link - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6jxmP1hsknoxBvvgh6Ynyi?si=7yyX4dodSmuIBZCN91vPfQ


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